Page 154 - RusRPTMar23

Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season in July through to December, Russia exported 24.9mn tonnes of wheat, 3.2mn tonnes more than a year ago at the same stage. December’s wheat exports alone were also a record 4.2mn tonnes.
In October to November, total grain exports reached a record 5.6mn and 5.7mn tonnes respectively, but even this increase is not enough to fully address the oversupply.
Russia's total grain exports, excluding supplies to Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus, are expected to reach 26mn tonnes in July-December, up 10% from a year ago, the state-controlled trader United Grain Company says and expects Russia's 2022/23 grain exports at 53-54mn tonnes, according to its deputy head Ksenia Bolomatova, Reuters
reports.
The effects of the war and sanctions have also indirectly hit farmers by driving up freight and insurance costs, while restrictions on banking make settlement for international trade deals difficult. At the same time production has been impacted by the shortage of the most productive agricultural machinery, high- quality seeds, and plant protection products. For example, Russia imports almost all its seed potatoes from Europe, which has now stopped. The shortage of personnel is another challenge faced by almost half (46%) of companies in the industry, after unemployment fell to all-time lows, reports The Bell. At the end of last year agricultural companies wrote to the government to warn that the partial mobilisation that started on September 21 would hurt Russia’s
agricultural production.
Despite President Vladimir Putin's boasting that Russia's record grain harvest will eradicate the potential global food crisis and bring down agro-inflation, Russia will very likely be forced to reduce grain production in the coming seasons because of these problems.
The combined grain reserves of Russian agricultural companies, excluding small ones, grew by 51.8% in 2022 to 31.7mn tonnes in 2022, as seen by PRIME in the materials of the Federal State Statistics Service on February 8. Wheat reserves increased by 59.6% to 22.1mn tonnes.
Russia will increase grain exports to 55-60mn metric tonnes by the end of the current agricultural year, President Vladimir Putin said during his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on February 21.
"As regards our agricultural production, it showed the double-digit growth rates last year. Thank you so much; the deepest gratitude to agricultural producers. Russian farmers gathered the record-breaking harvest - over 150mn metric tonnes of grain, including over 100mn metric tonnes of wheat. We will be able
154 RUSSIA Country Report March 2023 www.intellinews.com